Device for cleaning ship-bottoms.



JOHN I- PEGRAM, or LoNesPUR, VIRGINIA.

DEVICE FOR CLEANING SHIP-BOTTOIVIS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 16, 1907'.

Application filed November 14, 1906. Serial No 343.405.

To all whom it 772/6LZ/ cancer/1,:

Be it known that 1, JOHN H. PEGRAM, a citizen of the United States,residing at Longspur, in the county of Bland and State of Virginia, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Devices for Cleaning Ship-Bottoms, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices for cleaning ship-bottoms without beaching the vessel or removing her from the water and of that classincluding scraping means under buoy ant influence to maintain the saidmeans in contact with the submerged. portion of the vessel and permitthe cleaner to be readily moved longitudinally or vertically tothoroughly and effectively remove accumulations adhering to the hullbelow the waterline. One of the great difficulties to be overcome inproducing a satisfactory device of this character is to cause thescraping means to adhere closely to the side of the vessel and to bringsaid means to bear with suflicient force against the vessels bottom toset up a thorough cleaning 0 eration. This difliculty is overcome in t epresent instance by arranging a buoyant element or float under thescrapers and relying upon the tendency of the complete device to rise tothe surface 'of the water to effect a positive engagement of thescrapers with the side of the vessel body.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional elevation showingthe hull of a vessel without the usual equipments and illustrating theimproved device applied thereto in operative position. Fig. 2 is adetail elevation of the improved device. Fig. 3 is a longitudinalvertical section through the same. Fig. 4 is a top plan view thereof.

Similar numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the severalviews.

The numeral 1 designates the hull of a ship having stages 2 suspendedtherefrom to engage ropes or cables 3 and prevent the latterfrom comingin contact with the. bilge of the ship, the stages also serving assupports for the operators of the scraping device. The improved deviceis arranged as shown in Fig. 1, the rods or cables being connectedthereto and passing over opposite sides of the hull and up to the stagesand readily accessible to actuate the scraping device eitherlongitudinally or upwardly and downwardly from the submerged portion ofthe hull or bottom of the ship.

The improved scraping device is shown by the remaining figures of thedrawings, and consists of a frame having end members 4, connected bytie-rods 5 and top beams or stripsb, the lower tie-rods havingsuspending-straps 7 terminally attached thereto and extending from oneto the other. This frame constitutes what may be properly termed acradle and is so shaped as to receive a float 8, preferably of the formshown, and resting on the suspending-straps below the beams or strips 6.Extending across the top portion of the device and held in the strips orbeams 6 are transverse scrapers 9, formed with upper knife-edges 10, theupper edges of the beams or strips 6 between the scrapers beingconcaved, as at 11, to adapt the top portion of the scraping device tofit snugly against the bottom of thevessel or ship. The top portion ofthe scraping device between the scrapers iscleared, and theaccumulations removed from the submerged bottom of the vessel will bythis means be readily liberated'from the scrapers, or, in

other words, the scrapers will not be hin.,

dered in effectively performing the scraping operation.

The float being beneath the scrapers, as shown, forces said scrapersclosely against the submerged bottom of the vessel and with such forceas to loosen up marine growths and other materials adhering to thevessel-bottom. The sc-raplng device can be readily moved by the ropes orcables 3 fully over the submerged hull of the vesselwith materialadvantage.

Suitable windlasses Will be employed for raising and lowering thescraping device and be arranged to cooperate with the ropes or cables 3.These ropesor cables 3 are attached tobails l2, movably attached to theupper tie or connecting-rods 5, the said bails being free to swing onthe rods engaged thereby, and thus aiding in causing the scraping deviceto closely engage the bottom of the ship.

The proportions of the scraping device may be varied and the shape ofthe several parts may be modified. The scrapers are fitted in recessesin the beams or strips 6 and held by suitable means to render themremovable and replaceable by other like devices when they become worn orfor the purpose of sharpening the scraping edges thereof. The inventionis not limited in the least to any prescribed shape, and the float IIOmay be cylindrical or angular in cross-section, and the cradle, asprovided by the frame, will be correspondingly shaped to receive thefloat;

VVhatI claim is l. A scraping device of the class described, including aframe having end members, tierods connecting the same, straps associatedwith said tie-rods, strips carried by the end members and each having aconcaved edge, scrapers extending slightly beyond the edges of saidstrips, and a float removably supported between said straps andscrapers.

2. A scraping device of the class described,

including a frame having end. members, tierods connecting the same,straps associated with said tie-rods, strips carried by the end membersand each having a concaved edge,

scrapers extending slightly beyond the edges of said strips, a floatremovably supported between said straps and scrapers, and flexible meanshaving connection. at opposite sides of the frame for actuating thesame.

3. A scraping device of the class described including a frame having endmembers, tierods connecting the same, straps associated 'with saidtierods, strips carried by the end

